The present invention is directed to shopping carts and particularly to the prevention of four wheeled shopping carts having two fixed direction wheels and two swivel wheels from tipping over forward or sideways when the swivel wheels are swivelled toward each other.
In most retail stores, such as super markets or the like, shopping carts are provided for use so that customers can conveniently transport their selected merchandise through the store, past the checkout stand and eventually to the customer""s auto or other transportation means.
In the event that the cart is loaded and the greater mass of the merchandise is positioned in the front of the cart or children are allowed to ride in the cart while shopping or transporting the merchandise and they move around within the cart to a position that renders the cart front end or side heavy the cart could tip dumping the merchandise or a child in the cart to the ground or cart support surface.
Obviously if this were to occur the merchandise would be damaged and even more seriously a child could be severely injured.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,051,936 issued to A. E. Finger et Al teaches principally an alarm system to detect merchandise positioned on a bottom shelf of a four wheel shopping cart. The patent does utilize a pair of legs on the back sides of the cart that could prevent the cart from tipping sideways but would not prevent the cart from tipping forward.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,724 to inventor Deborah A. Flore teaches a pair of anti-tip legs, one in the front of the stroller and one in the back of the stroller. The legs can be deployed manually to prevent the stroller from tipping either backwards or forward but not sideways. Unlike the present invention the anti-tipping feature of this invention does not teach sideways tipping and is not always in place to prevent front tipping while the cart is moveable and must be manually deployed if the cart is to be unattended and stowed in a non-deployed position to again move the stroller.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,610,454 and 5,630,600 respectively to William H. Gill and Norbert Q. Pasillas both teach stops that must be manually deployed for use as brakes that would could possibly prevent backward and forward tipping respectively when deployed for rendering the cart stationery but would not prevent sideways tipping even when deployed.
As such, it is very advantages to provide both an anti-sideways tipping structure for a shopping cart as described that is always fixed is a deployed position to prevent tipping either forward or sideways and yet allows the shopping cart to function as intended at all times.
The invention is directed to preventing the forward end sideway tipping of shopping carts to prevent injury to a child riding in the cart or the damage to merchandise in the cart. A typical shopping cart on which the anti-tipping device is intended can be found, by way of example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,051,936 which teaches a shopping cart in with the two front support wheels pivot relative to the rear to the non-pivotal rear wheels. It should be understood that this invention works equally as well when applied to carts with pivotal rear wheels and non-pivotal front wheels.
One anti-tipping member is attached to the frame adjacent to and on the outside of each of the pivotal wheels. The anti-tipping member is formed with a concave side adjacent to the wheel so that the wheels can pivot relative thereto in a normal manner. The anti-tipping members are clamped to the bottom support frame of the cart and can be added to existing carts as well as new carts.
The manufacturing of the carts does not have to be changed to utilize the anti-tipping members of this invention.
The clamping of the anti-tipping members can be with clamps formed on anti-tipping member on the cart frame attachment end or can be clamped to the cart frame by any manner suitable for the purpose intended. The anti-tipping members can be constructed of plastic, fibreglass, metal or any other material suitable for the purpose intended.
The principal object of this invention is to provide a fail safe means for preventing shopping carts from tipping forward or sideways normal use.
Another object of this invention is to prevent shopping carts from front end and sideways tipping when the pivotal wheels become directed toward each other.
Still another object of the invention is to add anti-tipping members that do not interfere with normal wheel pivoting.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide an inexpensive means for preventing the forward and sideways tipping of shopping carts that is easily attachable to existing or newly manufactured shopping carts of the type defined herein.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the reading of the following description along with the accompanying drawing Figures in which like numerals are used to designate like parts or elements.